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Letter from the Parliamentary Commissioner
for Standards to Michael Brown MP
Further to your letter of 10 February containing
your formal response to the allegations set out in my letter
of 30 January, I am writing to seek some further information of
relevance to my inquiry.
I have obtained, as part of a much larger bundle
of papers from Mr. Greer's accounts, an extract from a payments
book (copy attached) which records the payment to you, in three
separate tranches of £2,500, £2,000 and £1,500,
of your share of the US Tobacco introduction fee.
Your letter indicated that the money was paid
in two tranches of £3,000 each - although I accept that this
statement was made to the best of your recollection. I note that
you intend to send me a copy of your bank statements. Nevertheless,
there remains some confusion about the timing and the amounts
of the payments and I would therefore be grateful if, to enable
me to satisfy myself that the evidence I have received is full
and accurate, you would let me have copies of your accounts prepared
for tax purposes for the financial years covering the payments.
If these are no longer available, I may need to seek your formal
authority to approach the Inland Revenue for access to your tax
returns for these years.
An early reply would be appreciated.
Sir Gordon Downey
18 February 1997
Letter from Michael Brown MP to Parliamentary
Commissioner for Standards
Thank you for your letters dated 13 and 18
February in reply to my letter of 10 February 1997.
I must inform you that there was no enclosure
in your most recent letter to me.
In any case, after having just received
copies of my Bank Account statements for the years 1988 and 1989,
I can now reveal to you that I received payment of the introductory
fee in three instalments: £1,500 on 27 July 1988; £2,500
on 17 January 1989; and £2,000 on 3 August 1989.
I am, therefore, pleased to enclose photocopies
of all my statements so that you may verify the above
information. [48]
I apologise for incorrectly stating in my last letter that
the introductory payment was made in two halves during 1988.
I have genuinely done my best to recall specific events which
occurred about a decade ago and without the benefit of any supporting
documentation.
I hope, nevertheless, that the enclosed copies
are of use to you. If you require any further clarification, I
am happy to oblige.
19 February 1997
48 Not printed. Back
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